Every So Often
by Tubular Fox
Summary: Every so often, they look back and remember.


I almost cried when I wrote this, because I'm a sap. I always cry when I hear this song because I always think, "What DO they do when they graduate and lose touch? How sad!" This was inspired by a Seigaku fic I read, and I don't remember what it was called, but I know it had the line "Wasn't it grand?" in it. Sad! TT

I lay no claim to Prince of Tennis, Hyotei, or Tennis no Ouji-sama.

The song is the English translation of "Season" from TeniMyu.

* * *

Once every so often, when there's time, they look back and try to remember.

_Hey, do you remember?_

_Do you,__do you remember?_

_That day in spring when we first met_

After high school, Atobe Keigo took over his father's big company and became a very important and influential businessman. He loses himself in his work and focuses on the future, not the past. But every now and then the sunlight will glint off the picture frame on his desk and he'll look up from his paperwork, put his pen down, and remember.

_Cherry blossoms colored the passing time in pink_

He remembers the names and faces, but their voices seem to be fading away…

_Everything was filled with a brand new scent, wasn't it?_

_We looked into each other's eyes and said a shy hello,_

_In the sky as we looked up_

When he graduated from high school, Akutagawa Jiro became a fashion designer. He makes all kinds of clothes, dresses and suits for all occasions, casual wear, and pajamas. He still sleeps all the time, but his orders are always finished by the promised date. He goes out for coffee and passes by the tennis courts on the way home. Sometimes he'll stop, watch the kids practice, and remember.

_There was an airplane track heading toward the future_

He remembers the voices and names, but their faces seem to slip away…

_Hey, do you remember?_

_Do you,__do you remember?_

_That summer day we fought like no tomorrow_

After Shishido Ryo left high school, he went on to college and became a teacher. He now works as a history teacher at Hyotei Gakuen and coaches the tennis team. When the team loses, he makes them run 50 laps around the courts. He still hasn't gotten used to being called 'Kantoku' yet, but it's growing on him. He tells himself that he doesn't want to remember the days when he was on the team, playing and practicing like this year's crop. But once in a while he'll watch the team train and let the memories come.

_Burning sun, trees deepening its color_

He remembers the voices and the faces, but their names are beginning to disappear…

_We fought every day and rewrote our limits_

_Connecting out hearts, souls become one_

_The sweat on your forehead accents the smile_

Once Ohtori Choutaro left school, he became a veterinarian. His gentle hands help many pets recover from injury and illness and it makes him happy to know he's making a small difference in the world. He also helps out at the local Humane Society where he takes care of the abandoned and stray animals. When the animals don't have names, he names them himself. Shishido, Atobe, and Kabaji are his favorites, but the rest of the animals are loved just as much. The cat he named Jiro is lazy, but energetic when catnip is involved. He tries not to stop and wonder why he named the animals after his old friends, but sometimes when he's walking home after work, fingers stroking the fur of yet another adopted pet, he stops to remember,

_Sparkling smile, you're shining brightly_

He remembers the feel of the hands clasped in his after a match and the way the bodies relaxed in the shade after a hard day's practice, but their smiles are beginning to melt away…

_Many things happen in life_

_Every day becomes yesterday_

_But I'd become the brand new tomorrow with you_

_We're growing little by little_

_Through various experiences_

_Our bond gets stronger every time we overcome a hardship_

_The word that I want to tell you now_

_Is the word we both already know_

Mukahi Gakuto dropped out of high school and followed his dream to become a famous acrobat. He is now training for the Olympics, confident that he can win the gold. He soars higher than almost all of the other gymnasts around him, and his endurance has sky rocketed. He never thinks of the past, the times he spent playing tennis with his friends because he has other, more important things to worry about. But as the coach next to him yells out "You should jump more!" he pauses in his routine and remembers.

_It is... _

He remembers the smiles and the time spent relaxing in the shade by the courts, but the feel of their skin is starting to become faint…

_Hey, do you remember?_

_Do you,__do you remember?_

_That fall day we quarreled about the difference in our opinion_

Once earning his degree, Hiyoshi Wakashi opened his own dojo. He trains all who wish to learn a new move that the students refer to as 'Gekokujyou'. Through hard work and concentration, he has manages to school his thoughts away from the days when Gekokujyou meant something entirely different to him and all who heard it. He doesn't speak of his past and his students don't ask, except to wonder aloud if he is all right when he sits and stares into space muttering 'Gekokujyou' under his breath. He sits, and remembers.

_The breeze that cools down our warm bodies_

He remembers the feel of their skin and the smiles, but he can no longer recall the time spent together relaxing…

_A leaf falls down sadly in the sepia-toned wind_

_Awkward atmosphere, uncomfortable situation_

_We can't help it, we're too pure_

It came as no surprise that Munehiro Kabaji became a bodyguard after he graduated. He is strong, young, and a good listener, qualities highly valued in his line of work. As he keeps the paparazzi off his latest client, he quietly muses about the number of screaming fans that populate the driveway and knows that he hasn't seen this many since the days back at Hyotei, when he worked with a man who was as, if not more, popular than his current client. As he mindlessly shoves another rabid fan out of the way, he allows himself to remember.

_Let's have a fight, we're friends you know_

He remembers the time spent talking and the sounds of their laughs, but the color of their eyes is beginning to pass from his memory…

_Hey, do you remember?_

_Do you,__do you remember?_

_That winter day I was feeling depressed and frustrated_

Oshitari Yuushi became a romance novelist in his free time, and now his books are best sellers across most of Japan. He writes about things that all people can relate to; loneliness, sadness, lost friends, and hope that things will get better. His books reflect his life, people say, but Oshitari dismisses that as a completely incorrect assumption, because he lost hope long ago. But as he writes, he takes time to be himself and remember.

_We walked quietly in the freezing cold city_

He remembers the color of their eyes, and the time they spent just talking, but he con no longer bring to mind the sound of their laughter…

_Only your warmth can keep me warm_

_It's so tough, though, it isn't so hard that it would make you cry_

_When at times like this, just say nothing and_

_Connect our hearts, it's all going to be okay_

Atobe reads about Jiro's success in the magazines as he waits for his appointment, and wishes that he still knew the blonde designer like he used to.

_Many things happen in life_

Jiro hears the new Hyotei tennis team talking about their new coach as he passes by the courts on his way home, and wishes that he could recall what Shishido looks like.

_Every day becomes yesterday_

Shishido's students tell him about the 'Save the Animals' drive that is going on, started by someone he used to know very dearly, and he wishes he still had Choutaro to talk to.

_But I'd become the brand new tomorrow with you_

Choutaro watches on TV as the red-haired Japanese acrobat is handed the gold medal at the Olympics and wishes that he could be there in person to let Gakuto know that he hasn't forgotten.

_We're growing little by little_

Gakuto passes by the new dojo one day on the way home from the grocery store one day and wishes that he had enough guts to go inside and talk to Hiyoshi, but the memories halt him on the pathway.

_Through various experiences_

Hiyoshi sees Kabaji holding back fans on a celebrity interview on late night TV, after all the students have gone home, and wishes that could say that he knew what Kabaji was thinking, like they all used to.

_Our bond gets stronger every time we overcome a hardship_

Kabaji notices that one of his clients is reading one of the new best-selling books written by someone he used to know, and wishes that he still could say, "I know Yuushi."

_The word that I want to tell you now_

Oshitari reads in the paper one day about the surprising success of the Atobe Company headquarters in France, and wishes that he had remembered that Atobe spoke French.

_Is the word we both already know_

They all wish that time hadn't driven them apart, hadn't made them lose contact, but that's life and they know it. They knew, deep in their hearts, that no promises to stay together forever when they were young could stand up to the harsh reality that the world presented.

_It is..._

Once every so often, when there's time, they look back and try to remember. But most of the time, when their hearts hurt from the memories of what used to be, they look forward and try to forget.

_Then again, it's spring_

_The season will change_


End file.
